Lane Limited Edgeworth Ready-Rubbed

I've been smoking a pipe for more than 38 years, yet somehow had never tried this classic tobacco. On the recommendation of Bob Runowski ("Morleysson"), a person whose opinions on tobacco I respect a lot, I ordered a 14 oz. can.

ERRd in the can is a mix of medium and dark browns with a slightly sweet, somewhat chocolatey aroma. I have heard a rumor that this blend is cased with chocolate but have no idea if that is true. It comes in a rubbed out cut that packs almost as well as a cube cut and makes it very simple to pack, light, and smoke. It has a very good burn rate; you won't need many relights with this one.

The flavor can best be described as a crisp burley nuttiness. In spite of whatever casing it may have, it is not a sweet tobacco. The flavor stays consistent most of the way down the bowl, although I did note a slight bitterness right at the bottom in a couple of pipes. I smoked this blend in a variety of pipes and found it works best in a larger bowl.

One excellent point for this quality tobacco is price. I purchased a 14 oz. can from JR Cigars for $19.95. With many blends exceeding the $30/lb. mark that is an excellent buy.

Scores for Edgeworth Ready Rubbed: Flavor-16 of 20; lighting and burn-9 of 10; value-10 of 10. 35 points gets ERRd a **** rating and the highest score I've ever given an OTC tobacco. It has found a permanent home in my tobacco cabinet.

Not big on Burley or OTC blends but I read another bit of trivia about this that I will describe below. It piqued my interest so I picked up a pouch and have been working on it throughout the day. Not bad for an OTC blend. I find it smooth, a little sweet (perhaps the rum?) and overall rather pleasant. A little like Peretti's 333 or BPC blends but milder. Not bad. I usually end up not finishing many Burleys I try and they end up in the cabinet for a few months and then in the trash but I will definitely finish this pouch. Not sure if I will buy it regularly but if I am in a pinch, it won't disappoint me.

Oh, that bit of trivia- I recently read where the former dictator of the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin, loved smoking a pipe and Edgeworth was his favorite blend, but he had to hide that fact since it was an American tobacco. Hope that doesn't drive anyone away from it as it really isn't that bad, IMHO.

I bought a tin of this based on reviews here and on a few forums.I can't say I'm disappointed, nor am I overly pleased. The taste for me reminds me of a good burley, with a subtle addition that I haven't figured out yet. Perhaps I will add to this review at a later date, but for right now, I'll say, not bad/not great.

**UPDATE** Edgeworth and I have formed an unusual relationship as I'm nearing the bottom of the tub. The blend has dried and the flavor has changed slightly. I've had some really good smokes as is, and found it to be a nice addition to Virginia tobacco (50/50). I'm getting another tub, but Carter Hall is still #1 for me as far as OTC burley blends.

Out of the big blue tin, Edgeworth arrives a little damp. Some drying time and some further rubbing out certainly helps.

After a quick gravity fill, the slightly sticky Burley cube cut burns steadily, although several charring lights may be required. The soft, slightly sweet casing (tastes like chocolate to me) adds a touch of sweetness to the mouth, but overall, a classy Burley taste prevails. The room aroma is beyond tolerable and may even be fairly pleasant to non-smokers.

To me, Edgeworth is the best OTC Burley blend available today, but Prince Albert is an extremely close second because it burns much better and it finishes a little less sweet.

Within the Americana OTC Burley blend genre, Edgeworth effortlessly earns 4 stars.

As a bit of trivia, LL Bean used to sell Edgeworth as their own special blend. Old LL never had a problem taking a common product and making it his own. The famous Maine Hunting Shoe, for example. This was not a new idea when LL hung a new moniker on it and made it his flagship product. This was back when LL Bean still pretended they were just a New England general store with a catalog, instead of the mainstay of preppiedom they were/have become. The blurbs were written as if old LL were sitting there in front of the woodstove advising his customers. Not being disparaging, mind you, just poking gentle fun. It was, as several have remarked, right up there with Half and Half, Prince Albert (in the can), Raleigh, Granger, Barking Dog ("It never bites") Amphora and Sail for the henpecked, and other drugstore blends back in the 50s and 60s. The classic American pipe smoke was burley. Period. Leafing through old Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck reproduction catalogs bears this out. My personal favorite was Granger.

Aah, what memories these reviews bring back.

Many years ago, as a newer pipe smoker, I visited a large chain drugstore with an entire isle devoted to pipe tobacco. It was a hot summer morning, but seemed like Christmas to me as I marveled at all the colorful boxes, cans and pouches, spotting many brands and blends I'd never seen before.

I purchased many tobaccos that day but none as interesting as the one with the funny phrase, "ready rubbed" on the pouch. I had no clue what "ready rubbed" meant but fired up my first bowl of Edgeworth anyway.

Almost instantly, it dawned on me that this was different from the other drugstore blends I'd been smoking. This was my first taste of a decent quality blend.

No longer happily oblivious to the low quality stuff I'd been weaned on, I continued to smoke "ready rubbed" and began to seek out new blends at tobacco stores. I moved on to Troost Slices and my life as a piper was forever changed.

I don't see Ready Rubbed around the drugstores anymore and it looks like it's gotten a bit pricey in the cans. It's been years since I smoked it and am not sure how much I'd care for it today, but this one was a turning point in my pipesmoking life.

3 Nostalgic Stars * * *

I ordered a tin of this from JR's not expecting much and certainly not expecting it to be anything like it's cousin, the sliced version.

What I found it to be was just plain good ol' burley. The cut is somewhere between a crimp cut and cubed burley. It packs and likes easily and smokes cool and pretty much biteless as far as burley tobaccos are concerned.

It costs a bit more than Prince Albert. However, it burns a lot slower and cooler. It's a higher quality of burley than that used in Prince Albert.

For those who like classic American burley blends, this is worth your time. Ounce for ounce, I believe it to be the best cubed burley available and I smoke it often.

Hands down the best OTC in my opinion, in that it doesn't smoke like an OTC. PA and CH are great but when they're done they're pretty much done. This lingers like a "high class" blend.

I talked to someone at a local B&M who said he heard from an old blender for Edgeworth that they most definitely add chocolate. But this has a solid burley flavor that isn't marred by any sort of aromatic character. As with all OTCs, much better out of the tub than out of the pouch. Spicy and delicious. I would almost guess there is a dash of perique in this but it is not the case.

This is one of those affordable "drugstore" blends that are actually better than most of the higher-priced "premium" mixtures (IMO, of course). It's similar to both Carter Hall and Prince Albert, although it has a darker and slightly sweeter taste. The cubed cut also makes a big difference in that it burns FAR more slowly than its counterparts. Like the aforementioned blends, Edgeworth RR is also an excellent tobacco for breaking in a pipe. There is a noticeable flavoring, but it's artfully applied.